SMU receivers coach Jason Phillips said he was pleased with the progress his receivers made during the Mustangs’ spring workouts. He said he liked the talent with which he had to work, but acknowledged that there were games in which the receivers’ performance didn’t match his expectations. More than anything, he said he would have liked more consistent performances over the course of the season, but he liked the improvement they made over the course of the season.

Receivers coach Jason Phillips said that if he gets enough practice time on offense, Kenneth Acker has the potential to be the best receiver on the SMU team (photo by SMU athletics).

Phillips was hesitant to single out players from whom he expected a big season in 2013. He said the receivers, as a group, impressed him during spring workouts with their focus, their fitness and their energy, before acknowledging a pair who stood out a little from the group.

“Honestly, I thought all of them had a pretty good spring,” he said. “They all have a much better understanding of what we expect, how to play the game. They’re getting more comfortable with taking the information and putting it to use in games.

“I think a lot of them had a really good spring, but if I had to pick anyone who stood out, I would say Der’Rikk Thompson and Jeremy Johnson. They were better this spring (than during the 2012 season), they were more productive this spring. We’ll see where we are when we get together in August, but hopefully we, as a group, will be able to pick up where we left off this spring and take that next step forward.”

As a former star quarterback in high school, Phillips said Johnson already has the personality and work habits to be among the team’s leaders. He didn’t grab that role before, deferring to his older teammates while he made the transition from quarterback and learned his new position, but now, Phillips thinks Johnson is ready to be an example for his teammates.

“Jeremy should accept the role as one of our leaders,” Phillips said. “He’s a senior, and he’s the next Pony up. He’s ready to take on the role as our go-to guy, and he has done a really good job preparing for that role. He’s doing all of the things he needs to do to be successful, and he’s making sure his teammates are doing the same. I think he really has the respect of his teammates, in part because he demands it of himself. Because he was a quarterback in high school, and a very good one, I think that helps make it easy for him to do that, to be that kind of leader.”

Thompson, Phillips said, is the classic example of a player who has the talent, but was not always sure of himself and therefore battled inconsistency.

“I think Der’Rikk’s problem in the past has been his confidence level,” Phillips said. “He can run and he can catch, but he has to show that consistently in games. Someone made the comment recently that ‘he looks taller,’ and I think he does. It’s almost like he slouched a little before. But he had a great spring, and he can be a darn good receiver when he plays with confidence. (Former University of Houston receivers) Patrick Edwards, Tyron Carrier, Donnie Avery — they were the same way. When you play with confidence, you play better. Der’Rikk did a lot of that this spring. You could see his confidence improving all the time, and he played better all the time.”

As is the case every season, Phillips and the rest of the SMU staff will be evaluating new players when the freshmen arrive in August. He got a head start with two players, Nate Halverson and Deion Sanders, who enrolled at SMU in January.

“I thought they did well this spring,” Phillips said. “They learned a lot and they worked hard. I don’t think either one is ready to play now, so they might benefit from a redshirt year, but let’s see how they take what they learned this spring and respond to camp in the fall. We’ll see how that goes for them in the fall, but I think they both have a bright future.”

Phillips also welcomes a talented quartet of incoming freshmen in August. While he doesn’t expect to play all of them in 2013, Phillips said he is not averse to the idea of playing true freshmen who earn the opportunity.

“I think we have a group of freshmen (Jeremiah Gaines, JaBryce Taylor, Cedric Lancaster and Everett Dickerson) who are extremely talented,” Phillips said. “Come fall, we’ll pay a lot of attention to those who can help us. Those who can’t will redshirt, and fall is not really an extensive teaching session, so the returning guys — the guys who played last season and went through spring with us — they have a headstart.

“That doesn’t mean freshmen can’t play. You look at some of the guys I have coached: Patrick Edwards, Tyron Carrier, Donnie Avery at Houston — they all played as freshmen. I have no problem playing freshmen, if they’re ready to play. I will not rule any freshman out. I have no preconceived notions about any of them. If they show up in August and show that they can play, that they can help us … they’ll play. If they show up in shape, ready to play, they’ll get that chance.”

The wild card in the receivers rotation could well be Kenneth Acker, the Mustangs’ senior cornerback who is universally considered to be among the best all-around athletes on the team.

JaBryce Taylor is one of four incoming freshman receivers who receivers coach Jason Phillips said has a chance to play early (photo by Lufkin HS).

“(Acker) could be our best receiver if he commits to playing the position,” Phillips said. “He has a lot of potential, a lot of talent. He has to spend some time running routes at full speed, but the talent is there. It’s a matter now of developing that talent.”

Phillips said he doesn’t anticipate having to talk head coach June Jones into letting Acker play on offense.

“I don’t think I have to do any lobbying (to get Acker to play on offense),” Phillips said. “Coach Jones knows (Acker) has the ability to play offense, just like he has the ability to play defense … and he has the ability to play both very well. I’m going to be supportive no matter what (Jones) decides.

“I think we’re going to get him as much as we need him. He brings more depth to the position, but of course, he’s also very valuable to us on defense. Kenneth Acker really is a unique talent. For us to be a good football team, we have got to play our best players, and Kenneth has a chance to be one of our best players on offense or defense, wherever he plays.”

Part of what that entails is for players to get stronger, and several of the receivers have. Johnson, Keenan Holman and Thompson are among those who look visibly stronger. Whether the offseason time they spent in the weight room was their own choice, a result of encouragement from the coaches to do so or simply a result of the natural physical maturation process, Phillips said he has been impressed with the dedication his players have shown over the offseason.

“It’s a combination of all of the above,” Phillips said. “Football is a physical, contact sport. They have to be able to play every play, knowing that they can get hit on every play. They have to be able to sustain those blows, get up and be ready to go again on the next play. I think (the trend of receivers getting bigger and stronger) is pretty much across the board. I’m one of those coaches who believes in the weight room. You know … ‘You can’t make the club in the tub.’ It takes hard work — a lot of hard work — and I’ve been really impressed with the effort the guys have put in over the offseason.

“It goes back to the idea of creating an atmosphere of competition. That’s something I learned a long time ago from June Jones and Jerry Glanville. If you create an environment that makes everyone compete for playing time and earn their jobs, that makes everyone push harder, and players respect that.”